For as long as anyone can remember, a key part of the narrative around this Scotland team has focused on their dependency on Finn Russell.
A belief that, in order to beat top-class opponents, their star playmaker would have to be at the peak of his powers.
Yet, in their dominant 47-38 victory away from home against Argentina, Scotland proved that there may well be life beyond Finn.
With Russell not quite fit enough to play, it was a glimpse of what life may be like as and when he eventually hangs up his boots.
Tom Jordan had a fine game at fly-half, dovetailing to great effect with his old Glasgow Warriors team-mate Sione Tuipulotu in midfield.
Fergus Burke, who came off the bench, also played well and helped create a couple of Scotland’s seven tries.
Scotland skipper Sione Tuipulotu bursts through his Argentinian opponents in Cordoba
Rory Hutchinson stepped up to connect well with Tuipulotu in Scotland’s 47-38 victory
Fergus Burke was among the fringe players who grabbed their opportunity with both hands
Playing alongside Tuipulotu in the centre was Rory Hutchinson, another player who stepped up and performed with poise and composure.
If this was some of Scotland’s fringe players being given an opportunity in the absence of Russell and Huw Jones and the like, they grabbed it with both hands and stepped out of the shadows.
‘Yeah, I was definitely pleased with how it worked out with Hutch,’ said captain Tuipulotu. ‘He’s a great communicator and I like to think that’s a strength of my game as well.
‘I am really happy for him. He got an opportunity to play in a big game away from home – and he took it. He played really well.
‘He’s had an awesome season and I think it worked really well between the two of us. We worked hard in training and connected really well with each other.
‘Also a shout for Tom. I love playing with him. We know each other so well from playing together at Glasgow. I like to think our energy bounces off of each other quite nicely. I trust him a lot on the field.’
This was a dominant victory for Scotland, a slaying of Los Pumas which was far more emphatic than the final scoreline suggested.
It was also the perfect way to kick off their Nations Championship, a bonus-point win against a team who have caused them no end of problems in the past.
Not least in the match between these teams at Murrayfield back in November, when Scotland conspired to blow a 21-point lead in a crushing defeat.
Asked how much of a driving factor that game has been, Tuipulotu continued: ‘Yeah, we addressed it. We had to, there was no point hiding from it or pretending it didn’t happen.
‘It was a painful experience, but I also feel it was a bit of a landmark for this team in terms of what we learned.
‘This was always going to be a massive challenge for us considering how good Argentina are as a team and how passionate they are.
‘That’s what I wanted us to do most of all – match their passion – and I think we did that. We also played some really good rugby at times as well.
‘We found a nice rhythm with our attack but Gregor spoke to us afterwards about the fact we still left a lot out there as well.
‘Next week will be a different challenge in terms of how South Africa defend. We know that will be another step up.’
Another step up would be putting it mildly. South Africa were brutal but brilliant in how they battered England into submission on Saturday.
Scotland can expect more of the same from the Boks. Russell should be fit again and available for selection, which undoubtedly will be a major boost.
Across the field, Scotland will need to raise their game even further if they are to cause an upset against the world champions.
But they should take huge encouragement from how they played in this crushing victory in Cordoba.
There are not many teams who go away to Argentina and make the home side look this ordinary, but Scotland did exactly that.
Townsend’s side were ruthlessly efficient in attack, scoring almost every time they ventured into the Argentinean 22.
For all the progress that was made during the Six Nations, this was a fixture which could easily have sent Scotland two or three steps back in the opposite direction.
But nothing could have been further from the truth. It was a proper performance, laced with pace and accuracy, and they had far too much for Argentina in the end.
What will also please Townsend was the fact that the tries were scored through such a rich variety of outlets.
Tuipulotu got the whole thing going when he went over in the corner on 17 minutes. Two more tries would arrive before half-time through Pierre Schoeman and the excellent Hutchinson.
Gregor Brown, Scott Cummings, Gregor Hiddleston and Kyle Rowe would add four more in the second half.
The tries for Schoeman and Cummings marked their 50th cap, while Glasgow hooker Hiddleston scored on his debut.
Had it not been for the concession of a couple of cheap Argentinean tries inside the final five minutes, Scotland would have won by a margin of over 20 points.
Any win away from home in Argentina is impressive, all the more so when it was achieved with plenty to spare.
Townsend and his players left Cordoba and flew straight to South Africa. The know the acid test that awaits them.
But, after a good Six Nations campaign, their form has continued into this Nations Championship. It’s a tall order, but they are entitled to feel like they are in a good place when they touch down in Pretoria.
